Is Canada’s six-year housing boom history?
The red hot Canadian housing market has shown tremendous resilience even as home prices on its southern border tumble. But a new Canadian Real Estate Association report indicates that the market is losing steam.
The price of an average Canadian home climbed 5.5% in the first quarter of 2008 compared to a year earlier -- the smallest annual jump since the fourth quarter of 2001. And first-quarter sales dropped 13% from a year ago.
The U.S. median existing home price, by contrast, fell 8.2% in February from a year earlier to $195,900.
"Canada’s six-year housing market boom is officially over," Doug Porter of BMO Capital Markets told CBC.